About the Adirondack Watershed Institute

Adirondack Watershed Institute

The Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) is a program of Paul Smith's College (PSC). The program started in 1989 as a local-scale water quality monitoring program called the Adirondack Aquatic Institute (AAI) and expanded in 1999 to include invasive species management. PSC started the Watershed Stewardship Program (WSP) in 2000 as a separate initiative that focused on local-scale invasive species prevention activities. These two programs expanded over the years as separate efforts, in 2002 the college recognized the synergy of linking these programs and thus merged them to begin the AWI. The AWI has since grown into a regional-scale water quality monitoring and invasive species management program.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Adirondack Watershed Institute is to create scientifically-sound knowledge about terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and human relationships with the environment, enhance the educational opportunities available for undergraduate students and to engage the Adirondack Community in ways that facilitate the stewardship of our natural resources.

VISION STATEMENt

Our vision is to:

play a lead role in producing and communicating relevant and high quality scientific information about watershed resources in the Adirondack region,

be widely regarded by both the scientific and Adirondack community as a primary source of reliable information on natural resources, and

be an important source for a diverse array of high quality research experiences for students

With globally unique wetlands, thousands of lakes and ponds, and over 30,000 miles of rivers and streams the aquatic resources of the Adirondack Park are extensive and diverse and provide a range of ecosystem services for both residents and visitors. There are multiple justifications for focusing resources on saving and protecting this special place from the environmental and socioeconomic threats of the various threats to our aquatic resources. The justification is most clear from a socioeconomic perspective, as the Adirondack Park's aquatic resources help form the backbone of the regional economy. Visitors expend over $1.2 billion dollars annually and tourism provides employment for over 26,000 residents. Clean and abundant water is a main ingredient of the tourism package that attracts visitors to the Adirondack Park, as over 85 percent of visitors' desire waterside lodging and approximately 70 percent want to swim, fish, or boat while visiting the Adirondacks. The Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) of Paul Smith's College conducts work focused largely on conserving and protecting aquatic resources and thus AWI plays a critical role in protecting the environmental and socioeconomic vitality of the Adirondack region.

The mission of the Adirondack Watershed Institute of Paul Smith's College is to create scientifically-sound knowledge about terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and human relationships with the environment, enhance the educational opportunities available for undergraduate students and to engage the Adirondack Community in ways that facilitate the stewardship of our natural resources.